Tending - An Undertale Story
by BirdEnthusiast
Summary: A young Frisk works alongside Alphys to help get Asriel back.
1. Chapter 1 - House Call

It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming... and Frisk was still facedown and drooling on her pillow, snoring like sounds of a faulty engine. Given it was a Saturday, her condition was justified. Then someone gave her bedroom door a couple knocks.

"Frisk, sweetheart, it's time to wake up!" she heard Toriel's voice hum from the other side.

Frisk moaned lazily and rolled over, wincing at the clock on her nightstand.

Eight o' clock.

"Actually, it's eight in the morning", Frisk snickered. She could hear an audible scoff from Toriel through her door.

"You said you wanted to help me in the garden! Well, I'm tending to it in a few, so hurry up! Come get breakfast!" Toriel's voice faded.

Frisk threw the covers from her body and lied still for a moment, taking in a deep breath before being enticed by the chilly morning weather to get dressed more appropriately.

Not too long later, Frisk dragged herself downstairs to the kitchen, each step on the wood paneling feeling momentarily cold on her feet. Rubbing her eyes, the smell of breakfast wafted into her face, Frisk giving lazy smile. She pulled out a chair at the table and hopped up, leaning her head on her hand and yawning, waiting to be served.

"How would you like your eggs, my child?" Toriel asked.

"In my mouth" Frisk smiled.

Toriel chuckled and put her hand on her face. "Someone's a little snarky this morning!"

Frisk stretched. "Sunny-side-up, please" she yawned.

"Coming right up!" Toriel said, holding her spatula triumphantly before returning it to the frying pan.

A few moments of silence passed, and just as Frisk was dozing off at the table, Toriel's voice sprang her back awake.

"Say," she started, "any word from Dr. Alphys about a cure for As... I mean... Flowey? It's not that I dislike him in the state he's in, he's definitely easier to keep track of and well... tend to, but..."

Toriel froze.

"...but what?" Frisk asked, worried.

Toriel sighed. "...but I want my son back..." she whispered to herself, closing her eyes.

The room went eerily quiet. Only the sizzling of Frisk's breakfast could be heard throughout the kitchen. Toriel opened her eyes and reached across the stove to turn the burner off, after which she made her way to a nearby cupboard to grab a plate for Frisk. Toriel set the eggs down in front of her, handing over a fork as well. Toriel sat down in the chair across from Frisk with her own breakfast she prepared earlier, poking at it absentmindedly.

"Say, doesn't this mean he's your sonflower?" Frisk grinned, attempting to lighten the mood.

With much success, Toriel gave a faint snicker. "Yeah, I guess he is now" Toriel said, beginning to eat.

"The only word from Alphys recently was that she's 'still trying'", Frisk added. "Last time I visited she was trying on regular flowers though, I told her it might help if she actually experimented on Flowey, but she didn't like the sound of that."

"I do not either," Toriel began, "what if something goes wrong? Then her efforts will have all been in vain."

"But Flowey's no ordinary flower," Frisk argued, "what if something that works on a normal flower doesn't work on Flowey?"

"Then... I don't know. You'll have to ask her that yourself the next time you visit", Toriel finished.

Around noon, Toriel took Frisk to her room to equip their gardening apparel. Toriel had her straw hat, purple tanktop, and jeans with the legs rolled halfway up her calves. Meanwhile Frisk had her long white socks and blue overalls to go over her sweater. The two set out to the garden in the backyard-trowels and watering cans in tow. While Toriel bent down to tend to her own section, Frisk grabbed a watering can and ran over to the greenhouse where Flowey was kept. Flowey was kept in the middle of the greenhouse in a large horizontal planter, through a maze of other assorted plants that Frisk carefully navigated through as not to trample any of them. Approaching a sleeping Flowey, Frisk leaned downward, placing her hands on her knees.

"Hey, Asriel, wake up!" she whispered with force.

Flowey's leaves moved slightly. Twitching, the flower rose and stretched with a faint groan. He smacked his lips and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to adjust to the bright noon sunlight. As Flowey began to come to, Frisk picked up the watering can from her side and poured it carefully on Flowey, who rubbed underneath his leaves, imitating shower movements. Frisk stopped, and Flowey brought leaves up to his face to wipe off excess water.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Flowey said, continuing to rub sleep from his eyes.

Frisk paused for a moment. Flowey would never understand the real reason behind calling him "Asriel". She remembered what he'd said, about forgetting everything and not being himself anymore.

"It's just... a cute name I came up with one day" Frisk bluffed.

"Yeah, more original too" Flowey scoffed. "Flowey's a name a toddler comes up with. It's got that 'add Y to the end of everything to make it sound like a pet name' formula. Kitty, Teddy... Rocky, yeah."

Frisk brushed excess soil particles from Flowey's planter as he stretched more. "How are you liking it in here?" she asked.

"Better this than outside. I swear those birds were looking nasty, who knows when they would've striked. Maybe it's because I move so much, they think I'm some kinda prey. If I had real fists I'd show them who's prey, alright" Flowey said, pretending to spar with the air.

Frisk heard the door to the greenhouse open behind her, looking over her shoulder as Flowey did. Toriel had entered with a tray of a few more flowers of assorted colors.

"What are those?" Flowey asked, "Replacements?" he joked.

"In a way," Toriel said, setting the tray down. "They're replacements for the empty space next to you in this planter."

"Do they talk, too?" he joked again. "Why do you gotta go and do this? I liked feeling like a king ruling over all these brainless heathens beneath me" he said triumphantly, "Peasants aren't allowed to join me on the throne!"

The small bit of Asriel that showed through Flowey brought a smile to both Frisk's and Toriel's face. Toriel's especially, as she had a fonder memory of Asriel's behavior than Frisk.

"Pretend you're really popular and your people are asking all about you!" Frisk suggested.

"Hmm..." Flowey thought, "I like it, I like it."

"Besides, it's good for plants if you talk to them." Toriel added. "Oh, Frisk, could you go get me my trowel, please? I left it outside and forgot to bring it in."

Frisk smiled, and Toriel thanked her on her way out of the greenhouse.

Just as Frisk spots the trowel and leans down to pick it up, the phone in her pocket makes its familiar jingle.

Alphys.

Without hesitation, Frisk answers her call.

"Hello?"

"Frisk, you need to come down here. It's urgent. Bring Flowey."

"Uh... okay, seeya then-"

The phone beeps, the call has ended.

Frisk picks up the trowel and stuffs the phone back in her pocket, returning to the greenhouse.

"Hey, mom?" Frisk started, handing Toriel the tool, "Alphys called, she says it's urgent and she wants me to bring Flowey."

Toriel looks puzzled. "What ever for?"

"Yeah, this better not be another invitation to watch anime again. That's never 'urgent'", Flowey gawked.

"She didn't say what for, she did sound kinda... funny, though. Think we should head over?"

Toriel pondered. "Hmm... okay, but no funny business. If she tries anything on him..."

Frisk nodded.

Toriel dug up Flowey from the planter and placed him in his own pot, handing him over to Frisk.

"Be careful now, sweetie!" Toriel shouted as she saw Frisk go back inside to change out and leave for Alphys' lab.


	2. Chapter 2 - Golden Lining

On the way to Alphys' lab, it seemed the interaction between Frisk and Flowey was kept to a minimum. Frisk only spoke to greet friends she passed by whom she'd met from her perilous journey not so long ago. Of course, in Snowdin she had to take a small break to rest her legs and pet the local populous, whilst chowing-down on some fresh-baked Cinnamon Bunnies. However other than that, she didn't really have anything to discuss with Flowey. Neither of them were sure what would happen at the lab, or what Alphys might have discovered, so they were hesitant to bring up any conversation of the sort. That is, until Flowey mustered up the courage to mention it.

"So..." Flowey started, turning to face Frisk. "Whaddya think's gonna happen at the lab?"

"Not sure yet. I'd like to think Alphys made a breakthrough, but she didn't sound all that excited, if that were the case."

"Yeah well, you know how she is on the phone, right? Sometimes it's hard to talk to her given that she sounds like she has a bad connection-in person and out."

Frisk scoffed, "Well, she's getting better everyday. She's never really spoken to anyone for an extended period of time, conversational skills aren't her strong suit, y'know."

"Don't gotta tell me twice", Flowey finished, turning around to face the road ahead. "We there yet?"

Frisk looked around, "This looks like the end of Waterfall, we should be coming into Hotland here in a sec."

Flowey sighed inaudibly, and had nothing more to say. Meanwhile, all Frisk could think about was the fond memory of a six foot tall blue fish woman chasing her down this same hallway, the thought making her giggle slightly. Frisk stopped just before Alphys' lab to greet the guard couple, the potted plant in her hands pretending to suffocate, implying the surrounding heat and Frisk taking her sweet time was killing him. Frisk waved goodbye to the guards as she jogged away to the lab entrance.

"Wait, couldn't we have just taken a boat here?" Flowey asked, albeit somewhat annoyed.

"Yeah, but I like the walk."

The flower let out an audible groan. Walking isn't as fun when you're a flower with no friends other than the one holding you, and sitting in a pot the whole time can get fairly cumbersome. Regardless, Frisk gave the lab door a couple of knocks. As impatient as Flowey is, after what seemed like an eternity (but was actually ten seconds), Flowey began to bash his face into the door. However, due to his botanic state, this did nothing more than make a small pap sound against the metal, making Frisk chuckle. Her giggle fit was cut short by the metal doors separating, giving way to entry. The curious child poked her head inside, expecting to find a shy Alphys hiding somewhere behind the walls, but she was no where to be found. Upon entering, a loud voice came over the intercom.

"HEY FRISK! YOU'RE HERE! AND YOU BROUGHT FLOWEY TOO, GREAT! YOU CAN FIND ME UPSTAIRS!"

Frisk and Flowey cringed at the volume of the loudspeaker, their reactions visible on-screen to Alphys. Turning the volume down, she spoke again in a near-whisper.

"Oh... I'm sorry! P-please, come upstairs, s-sorry about the volume..."

Flowey stuck an implied finger in his implied ears while Frisk bopped the side of her head repeatedly as if she were expecting something to fall out, having been loosened from the announcement.

After the two regained their balance, Frisk stood on the escalator to head up to where Alphys had called them. Stepping off, Frisk immediately saw Alphys who had her eyes fixed on something in front of her, out of Frisk's vision, unfortunately. Whatever it was would be revealed soon enough.

"Dr. Alphys!" Frisk called out.

"WAH!" Alphys jumped, scaring the two that approached behind her. "Oh! H-hiya! Glad you're here, I've made an incredible breakthrough!" She began.

"Really? You didn't sound all that excited on the phone." Frisk said, setting Flowey on the table next to her.

"O-oh, that's just cause I uh... I was so amazed! At... at my work! I call it, 'phase one'." The scientist hesitated, chuckling nervously.

Flowey rolled his eyes. "Yeah sure, okay, what's so amazing again?"

"THIS!" Dr. Alphys said triumphantly, revealing her previously hidden contraption.

"Oh! It's a whatchamacallit!" Flowey responded immediately as if he knew what he was talking about.

Alphys put her arms down by her sides, staring at Flowey just as Frisk slowly turned around to stare as well. The device looked simply like a heavily modified homemade grappling hook, though with hooks at both ends and suction cups attached. "Homemade" stemming from the unhealthy amount of duct tape visible on the device.

"Frisk, Flowey, follow me if you would. I'd like to show you phase two of this experiment." Alphys gestured with her finger.

"Yeah, cause I can totally follow you." Flowey whispered to himself as Frisk picked him up shortly after.

The doctor led the two into a dark, secondary room at the end of the hallway, a room neither of them had seen before. Flipping the lightswitch, Frisk's heart nearly sank as the room appeared similarly to a morgue. The walls scattered with drawers she hoped were empty, and a single stretcher in the middle with a lamp shining down on it. Frisk and Flowey both began to shake as they feared what was hidden underneath the blanket atop the stretcher.

"You really give me the creeps, doc." Flowey said, his voice shaken.

Alphys ignored him and simply continued. She approached the stretcher, grabbing one end of the blanket, Flowey feeling Frisk's grip on his pot get tighter. Yanking away the cloth, Frisk relaxed her shoulders and let out a gasp, no longer shaking. Flowey made no sound of his own, if not, instead a face of utter confusion.

Upon the stretcher, lie a cold, lifeless body that Frisk could only recognize as...

"Asriel...?"


	3. Chapter 3 - Heartache

Frisk slowly approached the stretcher, her fingers clasped together, her hands trembling. Several thoughts were racing through her mind, thoughts that said she had to be dreaming, that there was no way this could be possible. Just as her waist met the edge of the stretcher, Frisk folded her arms around her stomach, pinching and squeezing to reassure herself that what she saw before her was reality. She breathed slowly, the one lamp at her forehead and the low temperature of the room showing each breath she took. It was as if time at this moment stood still, and Frisk spent it simply... staring. Staring and breathing was all she could think to do.

Then she felt something lift in her chest. Her breathing quickened, her bottom lip began to tremble. She could hear her breathing blow through her teeth rapidly, almost uncontrollably, and soon completely. Frisk delicately reached over to the body's forehead, gingerly rubbing it down the middle with her thumb. She was half-expecting the eyes of the body to open, but nothing happened. It was nothing but pure silence, nothing but the air ducts above the room and their hum. Then, Frisk felt the first tear crawl out from her eye, sit above her puffed cheek and slide down off her chin. She began to tremble more violently, and all she could think to do was collapse onto his stomach, grasping his shirt tightly, trying to fight her tears but to no avail.

Let them come, she thought to herself. If there was any time for crying, it was now. Burying her face in his sweater, she began to scream. An array of emotions attacked her all at once. She wanted to laugh, she wanted to cry. She wanted to smile but she was confused. Torn between fantasy and reality, not even the touch could convince her that her friend-everyone's friend-had come back to the realm of the living.

Yet... living... it was still a question that had yet to be answered. This thought calmed her confusion slightly. Asriel was here, but he was not alive. Perhaps what she was feeling was a sense of grief, mixed with pure happiness. Seeing her friend again after all this time, but not seeing him moving. Frisk's screaming calmed, she lifted herself up from the body, arms still shaking, if not more violently than before. Her arms returned to her sides, clasped around her stomach.

Frisk jumped at the claw she felt touch her shoulder softly, Alphys retracted her arm slightly from the sudden movement, but then returned it as Frisk resumed her stare at the body. Alphys looked back at Flowey, whom she had wrapped in her other free arm, then back at Frisk from the corner of her eye before turning to face her again.

"He's not alive, Frisk..." Alphys began, "...at least not yet. I need something, one last thing to bring him back, that you have."

Frisk's shoulders relaxed, her breathing became quieter, and Alphys took that as a signal to continue.

She leaned in closer. "...Flowey." She said quietly.

Another long period of silence came that seemed to drag on forever. Frisk turned around with her head downward, grabbed Flowey from Alphys, and walked out of the room, without saying a word. 

* * *

On the walk home, Flowey decided it was a great idea to keep his mouth shut until Frisk spoke to him. All the friends they'd passed by on the walk to the lab got the cold shoulder instead on the way back home. Frisk wasn't running, but she was walking like she was in a hurry, taking very heavy yet quick steps. Flowey looked back at her, her hair covering her eyes-most likely on purpose-and her head faced tightly forward.

Coming home, Flowey half-expected Frisk to kick the door down, but instead she wiped her face with her sleeve and opened it quickly, not bothering to close it behind her. Frisk saw Toriel sitting at her rocking chair near the fireplace, reading her book, just as they'd left her. As Frisk tried to walk quickly and quietly to her room, Toriel caught her and ask her what had happened at the lab. Frisk stopped, then started walking again, squeezing out what sounded like an invitation to go to Alphy's lab herself, trying in vain to hide her voice cracking. 

* * *

After some time alone, Frisk heard the front door open and close, then heard her bedroom door open slowly. As she felt Toriel get closer, tears began welling in her eyes as she heard her mother's soft, inviting voice.

"Frisk... sweetheart..." Toriel began, "...this... this is amazing, absolutely incredible what Alphys has done..." she continued in a soft tone, placing her hand on Frisk's back.

Frisk turned around and Toriel retracted her hand. She saw Frisk wipe tears from her eyes with her sleeve and motioned to hug her, until Frisk looked up at her.

"...Isn't it?"

Frisk smiled.


	4. Chapter 4 - Uncertainty

"So what exactly needs to be done?" Toriel asked sternly.

Holding hands, Frisk and Toriel stood next to each other back in Alphys' lab, Frisk with Flowey curled in her free arm.

"Yeah, do you just make him eat me or something? Grind me up into a powder and make him snort me?" Flowey teased, Frisk audibly resisting the urge to giggle.

"Nope, nothing like that. And I mean that, you seriously aren't even close." Alphys said. "He's not going to ingest you at all, as a matter of fact you physically aren't even going to be near this body."

"So how will this work?" Frisk asked again on Toriel's behalf.

"Allow me to explain," the doctor began, clearing her throat. "Over these past few years, I've managed to harness a new type of human-like energy very similar to determination, one that's without... uh... c-catastrophic... consequences..." Alphys choked, beginning to sweat. "Ahem, anyway, uh..." she started again, rearranging things nervously on her desk with her back turned, "I call this new energy that occurs naturally and can be harnessed indirectly from monsters..." Alphys turned around quickly, startling the group, "HOPE." she smiled.

"Hope?" Toriel said with a puzzled look.

"Yep! Hope. Like I said, similar to determination in that it occurs naturally like in humans. Think of it as... the monster-safe counterpart to determination." Alphys smiled again. "Determination can't be created artificially, but this is not equal to the power of a human soul but instead, a monster soul. I harness this power from all the monsters in the underground remotely, after I'd called upon them to hope that Asriel will return, hence the name. I didn't ask you or Asgore though because, well, the hope is already there-if not the most potent batch I've collected thus far."

"ALPHYS! YOU'VE CREATED A MONSTER!" Flowey shouted, slapping his leaves up to his face in sarcastic horror.

"Not exactly. At least, not yet." Alphys responded. "I'll need to hook you and Asriel up to this chamber I built that will extract your soul into Asriel's body, where all the HOPE is. Hopefully, the concentration of HOPE within Asriel will accept your soul as a new host, and bring Asriel back to us, alive and well."

"How long will this take?" Toriel asked, letting go of Frisk's hands to clasp her own together in worry.

"A few hours at least, if the process goes too fast the transfered soul might become unstable. It needs to go slow and steady to make sure it transfers everything correctly."

"What will happen to Flowey?" Frisk asked, bringing Flowey to her frontside in both hands.

"A uh... a couple things..." Alphys pulled her collar nervously. "First uh... he'll forget everything he knew as Flowey once the operation is complete..." she swallowed, "and second, he'll uh... well, d-die."

Flowey nearly climbed out of his pot. "Ooooh no, you're not killing me to bring a goat back to life, no way, no how, NEVER."

Alphys hurriedly explained, "Nonono wait! Flowey! You'll be fully articulate again! You'll have a better life! You'll be a better person!"

Flowey scoffed and crossed his leaves. "Who says I need to be a better person..." he murmured.

"You won't have to rely on me to carry you everywhere, you'll be able to take care of yourself and not have to be stuck in a pot every day..." Frisk said, mystified, off in her own fantasy.

After a long silence, Flowey let out a sigh. "Fine. Do it."

Frisk gingerly handed Flowey to Alphys, who then took him over to the chamber, put him inside, and closed the window.

Just as Alphys turned to face the control panel, Flowey knocked on the glass of the chamber. "Hey, if you mess up, you can undo this, right?" his voice echoing in the chamber.

Alphys shrugged and continued toward the control panel, after which Flowey's expression turned to that of pure horror, his face resting against the glass.

As Alphys started turning knobs and flicking switches on the control panel, she turned to Toriel and Frisk. "I'd come back in a few hours, maybe a day at least. Nothing really exciting is going to happen, I'll let you know if there are any developments."

Toriel grabbed Frisk's hand, and the two nodded. Outside, they waved goodbye to Alphys as they crossed the threshold of the lab's entrance door. Hearing the door close behind them, Frisk looked back, then at Toriel.

"Mom? Do you think it's going to work?" She asked.

Toriel balled her hand and placed it at her chest, trying to hold back tears as she sped up her walking.

"It has to, Frisk. It... has to."


	5. Chapter 5 - Crepuscular

**Author's Note:** Been a while, hasn't it? Thank you for your patience, I hope you enjoy this chapter with more to come very soon!

* * *

Snowdin doesn't get very busy, but as busy as it can get, it was like that now. Not crowded, but its dwellers were about, giving an active vibe to the town's onlookers, and possibly visitors. Many sat cozy at Grillby's-enjoying a meal, chatting with friends, or just simply enjoying the company of the local populous.

Amid the residents were Toriel, Frisk, and Sans at a booth furthest from the door. They were able to speak at a comfortable volume among each other despite the many monsters that filled the other tables. On the jukebox behind their booth played an ambient jazz theme, giving the room a relaxing mood.

"We haven't heard from her in months, I'm beginning to get very worried something... something terrible may have happened." Toriel began, her arms crossed, looking at the floor beside Sans as she lost herself in thought. "She attempted to contact us a few weeks ago, though she hung up before I could answer, and that's got me even more worried."

"Don'tchya think if something bad happened, she would've told you by now?" Sans said, leaning back, placing his hands behind his head.

"Have you ever met Alphys? I think the last thing she would do is tell us a mistake she's made." Frisk answered.

"Alright, well have you gone to her lab to ask her what the heck?"

"Trust me, Sans, I've made numerous attempts to visit her facility, but to no avail." Toriel said, placing her head in her hands. "I knock, stand around for a while, knock again, shout through the door... and no answer."

"Maybe she got caught up in one of her 'animes' or something." Sans said, surprisingly seriously.

"Now you're getting it." Frisk joked, before gasping at the sudden vibration in her pocket.

Taking out her mobile device, she read a text from Alphys once in her head, then again to Toriel.

"Mom! It's Alphys! She says we need to get to her lab pronto!" Frisk said excitedly, yet without a smile.

Toriel gasped, "Perhaps she has good news! Let's go!"

"You two go on, I'll be here." Sans dismissed, as the two slid out from the booth and weaved through crowds to get to the door.

Frisk could tell Toriel was anxious, judging by how she not only forgot to grab Frisk's hand as she normally does, but also by how she ran from Snowdin to Hotland in one breath. By the time they'd reached Alphy's lab, Frisk was just about ready to pass out-crawling on her hands and knees-while Toriel was still hopping and knocking at the door simultaneously. After a long pause of no answer, Toriel stood still. This gave Frisk ample time to regain some strength to stand up.

"Is she even home?" Toriel worried.

"We've been... standing here for... about twenty seconds..." Frisk sighed, as she made her way slowly to Hotland's water cooler.

Toriel's ears sprang up at the first sight of a small yet growing crack in the door, which she immediately tried to squeeze herself through.

"W-woah! Hang on a second!" Alphys urged, unsure if she should step aside for Toriel or continue opening the door.

As Frisk was making her way towards the lab with her water cup, she saw Toriel fall through the door, letting out a small chuckle as Alphys looked from Toriel to her with a nervous smile. Alphys began helping Toriel up, as she dusted herself off and clasped her paws together in her normal standing fashion.

"Now um... what have you called us here for today?" Toriel asked, turning her head back and forth sporadically.

"Come, this way." Alphys motioned as the two followed.

The group walked through several doors and rooms, some which Frisk and Toriel had never seen before. Frisk began to feel queasy at the sight of empty syringes and strange substances scattered about the rooms, and held Toriel's hand tighter. Lost in thought, she felt a slight vibration in her chest from the rise and fall of a very deep voice nearby, and snapped her head forward.

The next room was noticably brighter, and felt almost like a child's room. The carpet was a pattern of a sky blue and dark purple, mixed together in a swirled shape, and the walls patterned yellow and pink. The first thing Frisk noticed in the middle of the room was a large dark blue figure that shook and spoke unintelligibly.

"...Asgore?" Alphys said, tapping his shoulder.

Asgore's head snapped backwards and looked over his shoulder before standing up and turning around. Hidden behind him was a much smaller yet familiar figure, though somehow neither Toriel nor Frisk could believe what was before them.

Lying on his hands and knees, one hand on the ground, and the other grasping a small toy car and rubbing it across the carpet rapidly, was someone who caused Toriel to fall to her knees, and Frisk's heart to sink to her stomach.

Noticing the silence, he halted his motion and looked up slowly.

Though it had already been as quiet as it could possibly be, the silence that blanketed the room at that very moment was more deafening than any other sound could ever be. Toriel felt like she could be here forever, as if time stood still and her heart had stopped beating. Tears began to well up in Frisk's eyes and spill quickly down her cheeks, her face and hands unknowing of what to do besides tremble. Toriel extended a hand-though not far-in curiosity and disbelief. Lifting a confident hand and clasping it in Toriel's ever so softly, he smiled. Strengthening his grip, he looked at Frisk, who couldn't help but return the expression, her lips quivering as they adjusted.

"Ha..." he began, unsure of who to face towards.

"...Howdy..."


	6. Chapter 6 - Dependency

More silence. It felt like everyone in the room had been there forever, perhaps expecting one another to break the silence again but never doing so. It felt longer this time, his voice plunging Toriel and Frisk's minds deeper into disbelief. Toriel's lips began to quiver as she felt her tears soak in to her fur, her cheeks becoming damp enough that the rest that came fell to the carpet instead, making a small tap sound that was only noticeable due to the silence. As much as she stumbled over her words, Toriel forced her mouth to move.

"A... Asriel...? I... It's r-really... it's really you... m-my ...son... my beautiful, beautiful baby..." Toriel breathed, squeezing her son's hand tighter.

Asriel nodded, and wiped at his cheek with his sleeve in anticipation of his own tears. Frisk slowly stepped closer, her hands and legs trembling, yet not in fear, but curiosity. She brought her hand up to Asriel's ear and gave it a soft stroke, thinking that if she could touch him, her mind would be at ease that her best friend had actually come back to life, and was directly in front of her. It felt calming to lie her hand upon Asriel's soft, clean fur. So much so that she absentmindedly continued stroking.

"Haha... Frisk? What are you doing?" Asriel asked happily, leaning in to Frisk's hand.

Frisk was then pulled out of her trance just as quickly as Asriel was pulled from the ground by Toriel, who then began to spin around rapidly while making a high-pitched squealing noise.

"Hahaha! M-mom! I'm so happy to see you too!" Asriel giggled with Toriel, tears welling up in their eyes that flew in the air as he was swung. Asriel grasped his mothers arms tightly, securing himself better in-case Toriel's grip got slippery.

Toriel held her warm, fluffy son close to her heart, in more than the metaphorical sense now. Realizing this fact is what brought upon more tears to her already soaking eyes, and her hold became tighter.

"Asriel... my baby... I've missed you so very, very... very much..." Toriel hesitated.

"Whmm rhmm mmm?" Asriel tried to say, his face muffled from being burrowed deep in his mother's chest.

Toriel set Asriel down in front of her. "What was that, Asriel?" Toriel choked, trying in vain to rub her eyes dry.

"What's wrong, mom?" Asriel asked, surprisingly seriously, wearing a worried frown.

"Oh... nothing, it's just... well..." She hesitated again. "...seeing you here after all this time... it just seems... perhaps in a way, too good to be true..."

Asriel puffed his cheeks, slightly offended, but determined. While Toriel was distracted by her thoughts, Asriel positioned himself behind her, giving as best a leap as he could.

Successfully catching himself by wrapping his arms around her neck, Asriel began to rub his face on the back of her head, pulling Toriel out of her sad trance. "It is true mom, I'm here, you're here, dad's here, and Frisk too!" he started. "It's like things are the way they used to be!"

Toriel smiled and shut her eyes quick, as though she was about to lose herself again. She felt Asriel bring his face to her side, which she brought closer with one trembling paw to kiss. "It's been too long, my child..." she breathed.

While this was going on, Frisk felt the need to act tough, and tried not to cry. Though looking at her sleeve, she noticed she was doing a poor job. She felt Asgore kneel to her side, and pretended to look away while she wiped away more of her own tears.

"Are you alright?" he began. Frisk nodded and sniffed, still looking away. Gasping as he touched her back, she turned towards him, Asgore giving the best inviting smile he could. "Do not fear, human. Our greatest wish all along was to have you both in our home. Toriel and I will take care of you, and Asriel. Together, we are a dream come true." he said, repeatedly petting Frisk as comfort, as he noticed his words having an effect on her. "Do come join us when you're ready, I'll just be over there, alright?" he finished, standing up slowly and making his way to where Asriel and Toriel were.

Frisk wiped away any remaining tears before realizing it may be pointless, given the reunion had only just begun. She took a deep breath and began walking at her own pace to her family across the room.

All the talking stopped however when everyone heard an alarm go off. Asriel pulled up his sleeve, revealing a small black wristwatch.

"Oh? What's that for, son? Is it time for us to leave?" Asgore joked.

"Nope." Asriel answered, reaching in his pocket and pulling out a small syringe.

"Asriel! What in the world are you doing with that!?" Toriel stood back, surprised and outraged.

"It's nothing bad! It's just my medicine." Asriel said.

"...Medicine?" Asgore said quietly. He and Toriel looked at each other and exchanged expressions.

Meanwhile, Frisk observed what Asriel was doing. Rubbing her eyes, she double-checked what she was seeing was real.

Bits and pieces of fur began to fall right off of Asriel. He wasn't moving, nor shaking and shedding like a dog. As this happened more rapidly, Frisk pointed out urgently to Asgore and Toriel who were still exchanging expressions.

"Mom! Dad! Look!" Frisk shouted, attracting their attention successfully.

"Asriel! My gosh, what's happening to you?" Toriel panicked, the fur coming off more frequently. "ASRIEL!" she shouted, worried.

Frisk gasped as she noticed Asriel's back beginning to bubble, and was very confused as to why Asriel wasn't panicking himself. Observing closer, she noticing he was measuring out something on the syringe with his claws.

Without saying anything, Asriel brought his arm up high and jammed the syringe directly into his arm, and pushed down slightly.

No one said anything. The room was back to it's normal silence, back before the tears came hard. Before long, Asriel's fur stopped gathering on the floor, and his body had no longer appeared boiling.

Asriel was distracted by his watch, placing the syringe back in his pocket after poking a few buttons, the beeps echoing through the silence. He looked up, smiling as if no one noticed, then frowning at everyone else's destroyed and confused expressions, especially Toriel's.

"...What?" he frowned again, more worried this time.

Everyone turned around and found Alphys to stare at, including Asriel who just followed everyone else's eyes, hoping to find out why everyone was quiet. Alphys stood motionless, then smiled nervously and began to sweat.

"Uh... I can... explain?"


	7. Chapter 7 - Life Support

"Explain what?" Asriel innocently questioned. Unsuspicious of anyone else's thoughts as to what he just did, Asriel clasped his hands together and looked at everyone looking at Alphys with worry.

One could almost hear the sweat trickling down Alphys' forehead. She shouldn't have let the reunion go on so long that Asriel had to inject himself in front of everyone. Now the spotlight was on her, and the undue attention was all her fault.

"Explain that uh... w-well..." Alphys shook, her eyes racing between all the worried faces staring at her. "...you're back! And that's great, hey can everyone follow me for a second? Except Asriel? Thanks!" Alphys hurredly explained, rushing into the other room before she was questioned further in front of Asriel. The rest of the family, except Asriel, followed as instructed, Toriel nicely advising him to stay put as they chased after Alphys.

As they ran in, Alphys was skittering around her lab, shoving several labeled boxes out of the way, murmering to herself.

"Alphys, what's going on?" Toriel questioned sternly.

"I uhhhh told Asriel that ummm he needs this 'medicine' for a while because I told him he was very very sick? Truth is he needs them for the rest of his 'life' pretty funny huh? Alrighty here's a box of 'em be sure he takes one every 12 hours!" she spat hastily.

"Wait, what!? What ever happened to being honest?" Frisk yelled.

"You want to try telling a child he's basically not real? That he's made entirely out of an artificial substance and needs to be on constant medication the rest of his life or he'll literally melt? Be my guest!" Alphys yelled back, not even turning to Frisk while she scurried away to hide. "If you need my help with anything else, come back later!" Alphys cackled, most likely going mad from the pressure she was under earlier.

There was a long pause after the door slammed down the hallway. Frisk, Toriel, and Asgore all stared at each other, waiting for someone to speak.

"So... what now?" Frisk asked to break the silence.

"Home, I suppose." Toriel sighed angrily.

The family moved to the other room, motioning for Asriel to follow, which he excitedly did. Toriel expected Asriel to ask about what was in the box, to which Toriel tried to happily reply "your super-juice" to play along with Alphys' lie. Toriel's steps were much firmer on the way home, Frisk noticed, and Asgore's much lighter, as if he were afraid of what she might do in her mood.

Entering through the front door, Toriel handed the box over to Frisk, who carried it to her and Asriel's room. It was clear Toriel was trying to keep her cool and act like she had something to do when she got home. Meanwhile, Asgore stepped in to talk to his son, informing him he ought to be much calmer about taking his medicine in the future, as not to worry his family so much. Asriel smiled, chuckled, and nodded, heading off to his room without a care in the world.

"Should we... do something?" Asgore asked a frustrated Toriel.

"What something?" She groaned, rubbing her thumb and forefinger between her eyes.

"Well I just mean that our son has returned, my dear. We should spend the time we never got to with him."

Asgore's words brought a faint smile to Toriel's face as she opened her eyes and sighed. "I am sorry, you're right. What were you thinking?" she asked calmly.

"The surface has an event called a 'fair', I've heard they are very fun. You can play games and ride rides there. I think we should go, perhaps as a more formal celebration." Asgore smiled.

"Sounds like a good way to unwind." Frisk said upon her reentry, looking at Toriel.

"Fine... but tomorrow. I have a terrible headache." 

* * *

Later that night, when their parents had gone to sleep, Frisk and Asriel still lie awake in their beds talking in the darkness to each other.

"Do you feel any different?" Frisk asked, her hands folded on her stomach.

"To be honest, I don't even remember how I felt before... it's all super fuzzy." he responded, staying quiet for a while.

During the silence, Frisk tried to think of more things to ask. She had to think hard about her questions before asking though, as not to give Asriel any indication he not only was Flowey before, but was also brought back to life through artifical means.

"Hey, Asriel?" She began.

"Whab?"

"...Whab...?" she thought for a moment. Frisk then realized what might be happening. She panicked and looked at her clock, that read two minutes past midnight. Knowing it was noon when she first saw Asriel dose himself, she sprang quickly out of bed and turned the light on.

Even to his own surprise, Asriel looked at his goopy hands and tried to scream. "Frbb! Thb syrbbs!" he tried to say. Confused and stalled by his speech, Frisk gathered her thoughts and tried to quickly calm herself, before interpreting his words as a plead to fetch another dose. Luckily, she'd taken the box to their room and kneeled down to it quickly.

Grabbing and uncapping a dose as fast she could, she held it out to Asriel, who held his hand out as if to imply he was going to grab it and inject himself. Resorting to gestures, Asriel shook his head, covering both his sheets and the bedroom floor with himself, before pointing to his wrist urgently. Her heart pounding out of her chest, Frisk had no time to argue with him. Shutting her eyes tight and looking away, she lifted her arm up above her head and thrust downward with force, pushing her thumb down quick when she felt her arm stop. She tried not to hear Asriel scream when she did this, or at least what she thought was a scream.

When she opened her eyes, she saw the puddles of Asriel scattered around the room crawl back towards his body, seamlessly reforming. His body going limp, Frisk caught him before he fell off the bed, the fur he shed under his sheets loosening and falling on to the floor. Frisk heard the door open behind her, Toriel and Asgore inviting themselves in after the screams woke them.

"My gosh! Is everything alright? What happened?" Toriel exclaimed.

"Midnight happened." Frisk said, holding a weak Asriel in her arms.

"Is he alright?" Asgore asked sternly.

Asriel was breathing heavily, tears welling in his eyes. "It never... gets any less scary..." he shook. "I guess I forgot to set a second alarm... this watch only has one..." he pointed with a head tilt. "I... really need to sleep now..." he choked.

"Okay..." Toriel nodded. "But if anything else starts happening you come get us, alright?"

Toriel and Asgore both said their goodnight and shut the door slowly, the sound of their poofy footsteps fading down the hallway.

Nearly half an hour had passed, and Frisk knew this well as she spent the whole duration staring at her clock. She's unsure if she'll ever get to sleep again after what she experienced just then.

"Frisk, are you asleep?" She heard Asriel whisper.

She sighed. "No."

"Yeah, me neither." Asriel said before the silence set in again for a few seconds. "Could I come to your bed? I think I'd like some comfort... and my bed's a bit uncomfortable with all this loose fur in it." his voice shook.

"Uh... sure." Frisk agreed, raising an eyebrow. She heard Asriel flip his sheets so he could get out, as well as the patter of his footsteps on the wood flooring. When she felt her own sheets lift, she scooted herself over towards the wall.

She jumped as she felt Asriel lie his head against her stomach and wrap an arm around her waist. He let out a long sigh, Frisk feeling him relax and sink into her stomach. She adjusted herself downward slightly, before taking a deep breath herself. Asriel rubbed his head against her stomach, Frisk trying to hold back a chuckle as not to disturb his position. Instead she only smiled, wrapping her own arm around him, hoping it would help. Asriel had stopped his quivering and adjusted himself again slightly.

"Thanks, Frisk. You're the best friend I've ever had."


	8. Chapter 8 - For the Second Time

Frisk sat upon her bed, laying back with her knees bent as a surface to keep her notebook upright. In her quiet room, she nibbled on her pencil eraser, before taking it out and twirling it between her fingers. Grasping it tightly in disbelief of her ability to not drop it, she sighed and put it where the bottom of the notebook met her stomach. She stared out the window of her room, which led out to the garden. There, her mind seemed to drift. She noticed the light breeze rustling the lush green grass and trees, making her feel a small chill as if she were outside. Toriel and Asriel seemed very comfortable out in it, however. Frisk saw them talking, but couldn't read lips nor make out what they were saying from what she heard through the walls, which was only the rise and fall of their voices. She felt another rush of blood through her chest and arms, slightly falling out of her trance when Toriel saw her through the window and waved, along with Asriel. Frisk wasn't quite out of her trance and gave only a faint smile and a slow wave, falling back in to it once they'd looked back down at the soil. Picking her pencil back up from her stomach, she gave the outside a few more seconds of glance before touching her pencil to paper and facing forward.

"It's been about a month since Asriel came back. It's a wonder how he doesn't remember anything about being Flowey but everything before, when he was still Asriel, even if it's fuzzy. Then again we haven't really brought it up in conversation, maybe asking him about it would spark a memory or two. I don't think I should risk it like that, though. I'm sure he could live on without knowing that ever happened" she wrote, drawing the last period of the thought before returning the pencil to her stomach. Letting out a deep sigh, she took the notebook off herself to prevent it from falling when she brought her hands behind her head and crossed her legs. She resumed staring out the window, noticing Asriel be startled by his watch. Frisk smiled as she observed Asriel taking his medicine on time, with no melting or shedding involved.

Frisk decided to go outside and join Toriel and Asriel in the garden, so she slid off her bed legs first and tossed the pen behind her, hearing it land on the notebook. There was a long hallway from the kitchen that led to the garden, various tools and hats decorating the wall. Frisk decided to grab the small straw hat hanging just before the door, combing her hair back with her hand and putting it on as she walked outside.

Making sure the door had closed properly behind her, she heard Toriel call her name. Urgently. Turning around not expecting much, she saw Asriel face-down in the dirt, however still in-tact. Frisk ran towards the incident and kneeled down beside Toriel.

"What happened? I just saw him through my window and he was fine!" Frisk asked, more confused than worried.

"I don't know, I don't know! He took his medicine right on-time but then he just... he just fell!"

Without thinking, Frisk turned Asriel over and dug her hands underneath him to hand him to Toriel. "Grab him, we might not have much time, I'll call Alphys and don't wait up for me, okay?" Frisk tried to tell Toriel, who was attempting to calm herself down.

"Yes yes okay Frisk honey" Toriel started. She sat a few seconds before Frisk urged her to go on a head without her and that she'll catch up. Toriel sprang upwards and was through the door before Frisk started dialing. Standing up and jogging towards the door, she put the phone to her ear and hoped the dial tones would stop.

"Hello?" a squeaky voice said.

"Alphys? Alphys we have a problem, Asriel is out-cold after just taking his medicine just now!"

"WHAT!? U-um okay, don't panic! Are you on the way? Get here as soon as you can!"

"Alphys wait what's happeni-" Frisk stuttered, hearing Alphys hang up. Frisk grunted angrily and put away her phone, running faster to catch up with Toriel. 

* * *

At her lab, Alphys was sweating profusely whilst scurrying around the room trying to get something set up, but she didn't know what. Startled by the banging on her lab door, she rushed over to open it, Toriel and Frisk trying to squeeze themselves through impatiently. Getting uncomfrortably close to Alphy's face, Toriel yelled at her as to what was happening to her son. It was obvious she was trying not to cry, so Alphys carefully placed her claw on Toriel and led her into the other room. Frisk was just about to follow behind them, until she heard more banging at the door. With no time for greetings, Asgore rushed past Frisk and hastily looked around for Toriel or Alphys.

Alphys had Toriel place Asriel on the table, and everyone had gathered around. Alphys did the usual check-up-made sure his heart was beating, opened his eyes and shined a flashlight into it, and checked down his throat.

"...Well?" Frisk asked to break the silence.

"Well what?" Alphys said, not looking at Frisk.

"What's wrong with him, Alphys." Frisk replied sternly, hoping to get Alphys to look at her. After a short moment of silence, she spoke again. "...Don't tell me you don't know?" Frisk leaned closer.

Alphys sighed. "Come with me. Everyone." She sat up and walked to the other room, away from Asriel, as everyone followed. Frisk however, gave one last long look at Asriel before turning away reluctantly and heading to the other room.

"I don't know what to do." Alphys started. "It seems as though the serum is too powerful to be taken as often as I told you. But if he skips a dosage, he might not make it. If he takes it, he'll keep falling in to comas, maybe even longer and longer ones each time until he never wakes up." She sighed.

Everyone merely sat quiet, sharing Alphys' mindset. Frisk could see Toriel shaking. Unable to cope with such an ultimatum, Toriel stood up quickly and walked out of the room, and Frisk followed.

"Could you make weaker doses?" Asgore asked Alphys.

"I don't think so, making the doses weaker would mean he would have to take them even more often, and the same thing would happen that it is right now-"

"HE'S GONE!" Frisk ran in to the room shouting.

"Gone? What do you mean?" Asgore questioned.

"We can't find Asriel anywhere!" Frisk panicked. She turned around as she heard Toriel's voice in the other room. Frisk motioned that everyone follow her.

"Look! Drops and clumps of fur!" Toriel pointed out.

"The trail leads out the door!" Asgore noticed.

Rushing out the door, with Frisk at the head of the group, they all followed the trail. Surprisingly, it went further than Hotland-at least from the entrance of the lab-all the way through to Waterfall. As they went further through Waterfall, Frisk rushed ahead as she noticed the droplets getting larger and larger.

"Frisk, wait up!" yelled Alphys, hoping Frisk heard her as she slid around the next corner.

Not even stopping to grab an umbrella, Frisk ran through the rain as fast as she could. In doing so, she tripped over her own feet and landed in a puddle, causing a huge splash that made everyone behind her wince and cover themselves from the water. Frisk, burning with determination, stood straight back up and continued running even faster. She was so close, too close even. She thought, maybe there'd be a chance to stop him and save him again.

Frisk was lost after she rounded the last corner before the stone statue with the music box. Meanwhile, everyone else had run out of breath, especially Alphys. However, Toriel and Asgore did not want to give up so early, and began jogging lightly to catch up to Frisk.

After the rest of the group rounded the last corner, they all kneeled down to catch their breath easier.

"Frisk... why did... you stop? What's wrong? Do you... see him?" Toriel tried to say without her breath. She approached Frisk as quickly as she could, kneeling down with her, and becoming just as silent.

Nothing needed to be said after what Toriel saw. In Frisk's hands was a white puddle, almost like paint, along with a few stuck clumps of fur. Toriel looked around. In what Frisk couldn't pick up, she thought she saw a finger sink in to another puddle nearby, although she didn't react. She knew there was nothing she could've done.

All there was now was the quiet pitter-patter of rain, wet footsteps and small gasps as Asgore and Alphys approached Toriel and Frisk. Everyone kneeled down, and Asgore wrapped an arm over Toriel in an attempt at comfort. This feeling she felt was only amplified by such an action, tears streaming down her face, and whimpers escaping her throat. Frisk poured out what she held in front of her back on to the wet dirt, the white puddles slowly disappearing as they sank into the ground. She needed her hands empty to cover her face, as the music box coupled with the situation made her tremble.

"For the second time... I..." Frisk started. "For the second time... I... I couldn't save him..." she trailed off, her head hanging low.

"I... I don't think there's anything we can do now." Alphys said softly. "I think... we all just need to go home..." Alphys paused. "I'm sorry... everyone..."

Frisk stood up slowly, shaking violently, as did everyone else. Alphys, Toriel and Asgore parted to let Frisk through as she headed back the way they'd come.

"Frisk, where are you going, sweetheart?" Toriel asked softly, noticing Frisk stop.

There was a long pause before Frisk held her head down even more. She tried yet failed to hide the cracks in her voice.

"I'm taking the boat back home." she breathed, immediately continuing walking. Oddly enough, she found it became harder to hold back her tears with the music box fading as she walked further away. Frisk clenched her fists and dragged her feet, trying to look forward as not to see her reflection in the puddles underneath her.

"For the second time... I... I lost a friend."


	9. Chapter 9 - Germination

Four weeks had passed since Asriel was lost for the second time. It seemed as though everything had been quieter around the house lately. The plants in the garden began to wither since Toriel stopped tending to them. Frisk stopped writing, as well as drawing. Most days she spent lying in bed, perhaps not even asleep, but just to be alone and think to herself, about what, not even she knew. Toriel would repeatedly try to get Frisk active by inviting her to run errands or just take a walk, but she refused, and often kept her bedroom door shut. It was obvious Toriel was also struggling. There were some things she doesn't do anymore-tending to the garden, baking pies, keeping plants around the house-anything not to remind her of the son she'd lost again. Every so often she'd try baking again, but nothing turned out right, she'd always get something wrong or give up halfway through. A few times she'd ask Frisk to help, but she again refused.

Late evening, Toriel knocked on Frisk's open bedroom door.

"Frisk, honey? May I come in?" she began softly. Again Toriel was unaware if Frisk was asleep. She lie facing away from the door, above the covers of her neatly made bed, and her knees tucked into her arms. She saw Frisk slightly adjust herself, and she walked closer to check on her. Frisk tried to hide how she turned her head further away from Toriel as she got closer, using the small poof sound of Toriel's feet as a gauge for how close she was.

Toriel sat beside Frisk on her bed, the bed sinking on Toriel's side as it adjusted to her weight. Placing a hand on Frisk, feeling her tense up, Toriel began gently rubbing her shoulder.

"Frisk..." she started softly, "it's not your fault. It's not anyone's. There was just... nothing we could do." she trailed off.

There was a long yet expected silence. Toriel thought Frisk would at least sit up or say something, but neither happened.

Toriel took her hand off of Frisk, and instead fell backwards to lie down with her, her hands folded on her stomach.

"But... you know..." she said, feeling Frisk perk up. "...didn't we have fun? I... personally... always secretly wished... just for a single day, if I could spend time with my son again." Toriel continued, feeling as though Frisk was paying closer attention. "What I got was more than I expected and I'm... needless to say I'm very grateful and truly blessed I got to spend as much more time with him as I did. It just felt... so special having both of you in my keeping, and being with Asgore again and... it was all..." Toriel paused and caught herself in deep thought. Lightly, she said, "...fun. Almost like, for a short time, we were a family, we were whole again." Feeling the need to clarify, she began, "That's not to say we don't feel whole now, it's just... I mean to say everything felt... normal, again."

After a few minutes of silence, sighing deeply, it seemed Toriel couldn't get Frisk to speak. She stood up, began to walk out of the room, but then came back momentarily and gave Frisk a small kiss on her cheek.

"I appreciate you listening, Frisk. I know you are." Toriel said, slowly starting to walk out of the room again. On her way out, Toriel turned her head, "If you need anything, my door will be open. Please try to go to bed soon, won't you?" she finished, the poof of her feet echoing and fading down the hallway. 

* * *

The next morning was met with a light drizzle. Before, Frisk had spent most of her time staring out her window at it, but then decided she wanted to be out in it. Grabbing her jacket off the wall, she headed to the kitchen where Toriel was awake making breakfast.

"Mom, I'm going out." she said.

"Aren't you going to eat first?" Toriel replied without looking.

"Nah, I don't think I'll be long."

"Alright, zip up so you don't catch a cold."

Frisk gave something of a faint smile and zipped up before heading outside. It felt nice to have the soft cool air against her face, just as much as it did to be walking outside in the rain by herself.

Frisk visited a few of her friends along the way, Papyrus, Undyne and Sans in Snowdin to be exact. They'd just come back from a long trip to the surface, with plenty of food and knick-knacks, most of which Frisk was familiar with. Frisk reassured them they didn't miss much while they were gone. Papyrus offered some chips to her for the road, to which she politely refused. After saying goodbyes, she returned back outside and continued walking. She hadn't been gone long, so she thought maybe she could head to Hotland and see how Alphys was doing. 

* * *

It wasn't until she got near the spot of the incident in Waterfall that she thought about going back. Or maybe she should've taken the boat in Snowdin just to avoid passing through this spot all together. Maybe she shouldn't torment herself like that, maybe she should head back to Snowdin, or maybe even head home at that point as the trip back plus the boat trip to Hotland would take too much time.

Deciding to walk away, she heard strange sounds echo off the walls of the cave that made her stop. She listened closely, was someone following her? She couldn't help but notice it got clearer as she headed towards the spot she wanted to avoid. Ultimately curious, she walked slowly towards the location, trying to figure out what that sound was. In the room just before the statue room, she stopped as not to frighten the person making the noise in to silence.

"That sounds like..." she thought to herself, "...crying?"

Hiding just around the corner of the statue room, Frisk listened closer. Between sobs, she could hear the voice much clearer.

"No... no not again... not this again... somebody has to come this time..." the sobs continued. "MOM! DAD! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!" the voice shouted, continuing to sob after seconds of silence.

Turning the corner, Frisk saw a small flower at the foot of the statue. Frisk's lips quivered, unsure whether to smile or not. She ran quickly towards the flower, but slowed down as she approached it. The flower turned towards her, its eyes shut hard, and tears streaming down its face.

"Is... is someone there? Can you help me?" the flower gasped repeatedly. Using its leaves to wipe its eyes, it looked up at Frisk who came in much clearer now. "FRISK!" he shouted, a big smile appearing on his face.

"As... Flowey? You're okay! What happened? How did you get here?"

"I don't know, I just... I just remember being in a dark room and feeling really weird and... I remember running and running and running but then... then I don't know I just woke up here... scared, alone..." Flowey began sobbing again. "I thought I was all alone again... Frisk please I don't want to be all alone again!"

"Flowey no, don't cry, I'm here! Everything is okay!" Frisk chuckled. "Everything is... okay." She trailed off, using her forefinger to carefully wipe Flowey's tears away.

Staring at each other as Flowey calmed down, Frisk came to and realized what she had to do.

"Okay, Flowey listen, I'm going to need to leave for-"

"NO! PLEASE DON'T GO!" Flowey screamed, the tears about to come back.

"Nonono it's not that! I'll be right back, I promise! I'm going to get you out of here, I'm going to take you home! Okay?" Frisk smiled to comfort Flowey.

"Promise?" Flowey sniffed.

"Promise. It will be quick, trust me, you're not going to be alone again." Frisk said before standing up and running off back home.

"Come back soon okay!?" she heard Flowey say behind her. 

* * *

Bursting through the front door, Frisk looked around hastily for Toriel. Toriel, Asgore, and Alphys were sitting at the table, holding cups of tea.

"Oh, Frisk you're home! Just in time, we-"

"MOM, GET YOUR GARDENING TOOLS AND A POT, FLOWEY'S ALIVE IN WATERFALL!" Frisk shrieked.

"WHAT!?" said everyone collectively.

"No time to explain just do it let's go!"

Toriel did as instructed and the group ran quickly to Waterfall. Beside Frisk ran Toriel who carried a pot and trowel at the ready. Quickly approaching Waterfall, Frisk heard Flowey gasp at the echo of everyone's collective footsteps.

"Frisk! You're back!" Flowey smiled, on the verge of tears.

Kneeling down, Frisk gave Flowey a few pats on the head. "It's not just me, I brought family!"

"Mom! Dad!"

"Son!" Toriel and Asgore said together.

Everyone gathered around Flowey, smiling and talking about how much they missed him, Asgore of course preaching about being "one big happy family" again. Toriel carefully dug Flowey out of the soil in front of the statue and placed him in the pot she was carrying, adding additional soil to fit the pot evenly.

"Alright, let's get you home." Frisk smiled at Flowey.

"Thank you, thank you so much, Frisk!" 

* * *

Later that night, Frisk and Flowey had been talking to each other for hours. In a word, grateful, that he could come back to the family.

"Hey, Frisk." Alphys said, inviting herself into her room and getting its occupants' attention. "I'm really glad everything worked out for you. I had no idea that..." Alphys cleared her throat, stopping herself as she realized Flowey should remain unaware of what happened weeks ago. "...I had no idea that things would turn out this well!"

"Thank you for everything you've done to help, Alphys." Frisk nodded and smiled.

Smiling back, Alphys began, "Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then! Goodnight."

"Goodnight!" Flowey and Frisk waved.

As Alphys left the room, Toriel entered.

"Alright you two, you'd best get to bed yourselves! It's been quite a day, I think you've earned it."

"Heh... definitely." Frisk stretched.

"Is it okay if I stay in Frisk's room tonight?" Flowey asked.

"Of course! Just don't spend the whole night talking and keeping each other awake, okay?"

They both nodded. "Goodnight!"

"Goodnight, my children." Toriel said softly, walking over to kiss them both on the forehead. Toriel flicked the light off, and shut the bedroom door quietly. Frisk, who was already in her pajamas, crawled underneath the covers and let out a deep sigh.

"Goodnight Flowey."

"Goodnight Frisk." 

* * *

An hour had passed, and Frisk was annoyed at how awake she still was. Regardless, she tried to keep her eyes closed and let her mind drift.

"Frisk?" Flowey whispered. "Are you asleep?"

She sighed. "No, not really."

"Hey um... listen..." Flowey started, him and Frisk turning towards each other. "I... I have some things to tell you."

Frisk tilted her head. "What is it?"

Flowy sighed, and swallowed hard as he began, "I... overheard you all the first time, yelling in the other room about how I was basically not real, and would need the medicine for the rest of my life".

Frisk's jaw dropped, "You... heard..."

"And... I ran away on purpose. I didn't think where, I just... felt a desperate need to get away." Flowey began, "When I woke up in Alphys' lab I... I was in terrible shock. You see, I've been having... really terrible nightmares after I came back as Asriel. Nightmares about... missing my dose, and just having my entire life revolve around that 'medicine', it was just... I don't know, it was just... too much. I almost felt weaker every time I took it, physically and emotionally. I woke up from the worst nightmare I've ever had in Alphys' lab. A sad, lonely addict who can't do anything because his medicine keeps him at home, or makes people scared of him. Just... every time I got close to not making it, just seeing the look and worry on everyone's face... I didn't want everyone to look at me like that, to see me that way. A ticking timebomb." he finished, looking out the window at the garden. "I think... I think it's just better this way. It was fun to have a body for what little time I did but... I don't think the upkeep, the pressure, how I made other people feel by being dependant on a product, was worth it."

Nothing but the sound of crickets filled the room. Frisk was in absolute shock that Flowey remembered anything about being Asriel, let alone how he felt deep inside about being alive again.

"Well... that's okay, Flowey. I understand now." Frisk said gently. "How do you remember all that?"

"I told you about how I've discovered every outcome of this world, haven't I?"  
Frisk scratched her head. "...No?"

"Ha... right... this isn't that outcome. Just... I just do, and let's leave it at that, okay? But... let's just say this one is new to me."

"Okay. I'm glad you decided to tell me."

"Yeah..." he paused. "Hey could you... keep this between us, please?"

Frisk nodded, "Of course."

Flowey smiled and gave a small chuckle. "Thank you, Frisk..."

"...you'll always be my best friend."

THE END


End file.
